Montana House Rep. Zooey Zephyr's censure shows that American standards of political decorum are failing

Supporters of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr hold signs in Livingston, Mont., on April 29, 2023. William Campbell/Getty Images^[9]

What happened

Republicans leading the Montana House say Zephyr broke rules of decorum after she raised a microphone above her head^[10] as protesters chanted, “Let her speak,” in the House chamber on April 24, 2023.

House Speaker Matt Regier and other Republicans voted on April 26, 2023, to stop Zephyr from speaking^[11] on the House floor after the protest and after she refused to apologize for saying eight days earlier ^[12] that lawmakers who restricted access to gender affirming care would see “blood on their hands.”^[13].

With this vote, the Montana House of Representatives barred Zephyr^[14] from the House floor for the remainder of the session, which normally ends in May. This means that while Zephyr can vote remotely on measures, she cannot speak^[15] on the House floor. It also blocks her^[16] from other work areas in the legislative building.

Republicans have said they censured Zephyr^[17] because she incited protesters in the House chamber.

“The choice not to follow House rules is one Rep. Zephyr has made. The only person silencing Rep. Zephyr is Rep. Zephyr. The Montana House will not be bullied,” Regier wrote on Twitter.^[18]

Zephyr’s censure comes amid a wave of efforts nationwide^[19] to restrict access to gender-affirming health care. Lawmakers have introduced 400 anti-trans bills^[20] nationwide since January 2023.

Understanding rules of decorum

The U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures have specific rules governing decorum, or how lawmakers should behave while in and outside of legislative sessions. These include rules^[21] allowing the House speaker or other political leaders to choose who can speak and for how long.

Legislatures, at both the state level and Congress, can choose to reprimand – or remove – members who breach the rules. In the U.S. House, members have been censured^[22] for sharing violent videos^[23] about harming colleagues and for engaging in sexual misconduct^[24], among other things.

Legislative leaders have wide discretion^[25] about whether to allow elected officials to speak. Legislators have equally broad discretion over whether to censure or remove members who break these rules.

In Zephyr’s case, Montana House Speaker Regier, according to the legislature’s rules,^[26] did have the authority to bar Zephyr from speaking. This decision is drawn from the Montana House’s documented rules.

Yet, Zephyr’s censure was unprecedented in modern Montana politics^[27], and similar breaches of decorum have gone unpunished^[28] there.

Preventing minority legislators from participating fully in legislative debates violates democratic principles^[29] of free debate and equal representation.

Using parliamentary rules to silence and censure lawmakers also violates the spirit of those rules, according to Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson, pictured on the far right, intended to establish a set of legislative rules to help provide order during a tumultuous time in the country’s founding years. ullstein bild/Getty Images^[30]

These rules have a long history

The U.S. House and many state legislatures, including Montana’s, largely follow rules^[31] written by Jefferson and published in 1801^[32].

Current Senate rules are also heavily influenced^[33] by Jefferson’s manual.

Jefferson wrote these rules^[34] during a tumultuous time in the nation’s history. He worried that the divisiveness of politics in his era might rip the young country apart.

His manual includes behavioral guidelines^[35] like, “No one is to disturb another person who is speaking by hissing, coughing, spitting, speaking or whispering to another.”

At the turn of the 19th century, the House and Senate were not governed by a set of distinct rules, and there was only limited guidance dictated by the Constitution^[36]. Jefferson worried that the lack of specific rules of procedure gave too much latitude to legislative leaders.

Codifying the rules, he surmised, would help to protect the minority. He saw the rules as “the only weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against”^[37] the abuses of the majority.

Montana legislators convene about a motion to censure Zooey Zephyr on April 26, 2023. Tommy Martino/AP

The censuring is a failure in political civility

Yet, these parliamentary procedures failed to protect the minority viewpoint when it came to Montana’s first transgender lawmaker.

I believe this is because of a breakdown in civility and a lack of empathy in American politics.

While Zephyr may have broken the Montana legislature’s rules of decorum with what she said or did, political scientists have recognized that democracy requires forbearance^[38] or restraint in the exercise^[39] of political power, which House leaders did not do in the face of Zephyr’s violation. When politicians exercise their authority without restraint, democracies break down.

Informal norms^[40] in American politics – such as civility toward all colleagues – tend to promote political cooperation and contribute to the functioning of a healthy democracy.

Democracy also performs better when opposing sides exercise compassion toward one another.

The failure to exercise mutual toleration and forbearance^[41] toward members of the opposing party only heightens divisions and degrades the country’s democracy. During such a polarizing time^[42], I think it is more important than ever to exercise political restraint and compassion toward those unlike ourselves.

Authors: Alauna Safarpour, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

Read more https://theconversation.com/montana-house-rep-zooey-zephyrs-censure-shows-that-american-standards-of-political-decorum-are-failing-204784

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